Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what form contributions to the BBC Funding Model Review will take, and whether they intend to publish all written and oral evidence submitted.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As part of the BBC Funding Model Review, HM Government is engaging with a broad range of people and organisations.
Those being engaged are submitting evidence on the basis that the evidence they provide is confidential in nature, especially given potential commercial sensitivities. There is no intention for these submissions to be made public, either in full or in part.
The findings of the review will support the Government’s views on the future funding of the BBC. Any final decision on reforming the BBC’s funding model would be taken during the review of the BBC’s Royal Charter.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government who will be consulted as part of the BBC Funding Model Review, and what criteria will be used to decide who is consulted.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As part of the BBC Funding Model Review, HM Government is engaging with a broad range of people and organisations.
Those being engaged are submitting evidence on the basis that the evidence they provide is confidential in nature, especially given potential commercial sensitivities. There is no intention for these submissions to be made public, either in full or in part.
The findings of the review will support the Government’s views on the future funding of the BBC. Any final decision on reforming the BBC’s funding model would be taken during the review of the BBC’s Royal Charter.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice they have received when determining whether members of the BBC Funding Model Review Expert Panel should sign non-disclosure agreements in relation to their participation.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC Funding Model Review is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel which incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The members were selected in consultation with industry representatives based on their experience and knowledge of wide-ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector, such as the role of public service broadcasters, press sustainability, and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary.
Ministers received advice from officials on establishment of the expert panel, including on confidentiality agreements.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings the Chancellor of the Exchequer had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport concerning the BBC Funding Model Review since the start of the current Charter year, and whether they intend to publish any minutes from such meetings.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State engages with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other ministerial colleagues on the BBC as appropriate, including in relation to the Funding Model Review.
Minutes of meetings between Ministers are not routinely published.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of News UK, GB News and News Media Association regarding the membership of the Expert Panel for the BBC Funding Model Review.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC Funding Model Review is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel which incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The members were selected in consultation with industry representatives based on their experience and knowledge of wide-ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector, such as the role of public service broadcasters, press sustainability, and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary.
Ministers received advice from officials on establishment of the expert panel, including on confidentiality agreements.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the BBC Funding Model Review Expert Panel intends to consider the funding options contained in the 1st Report of the Communications and Digital Committee Session 2022–23 Licence to change: BBC Future Funding.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government believes that there are challenges regarding the sustainability of the BBC’s current funding model, and is therefore conducting a review of it. The panel informing that review will provide independent expertise and advice to the Government.
The review is assessing a range of options for funding the BBC, including a number of the options contained in the Communications and Digital Committee’s report, ‘Licence to change: BBC Future Funding’. Given pressure on household incomes, the Secretary of State has explicitly ruled out the review looking at creating any new taxes.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of longwave radio on 31 March on people living in rural areas.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is not ending long-wave transmissions of BBC Radio 4 on 31 March 2024. The Corporation announced in 2022 that it would be ending the separate programming for Radio 4 on long wave only and moving to a single Radio 4 schedule.
The BBC has been communicating this change to ensure that listeners know how they can still hear Radio 4 programmes which are only broadcast on long wave on other BBC radio services or other platforms.
Under the BBC’s 2016 Royal Charter and Agreement, it is a matter for the BBC to determine how long to continue with its long-wave transmissions.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to announce a third pathway under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme; and what that pathway will include both (1) journalists still resident in Afghanistan, and (2) exiled Afghan journalists in Pakistan and Iran, at risk of persecution for their professional activities.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
On 13 June 2022, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office announced the launch Pathways 2 and 3 of the ACRS.
Under Pathway 3, in the first year, places are being offered to eligible at-risk British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni in Afghanistan or the region. We are pleased to have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK and look forward to welcoming all remaining individuals as soon as practicable.
Beyond this, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk under Pathway 3. This commitment still stands, and further details will be set out in due course.
However, it is important that we take into account the capacity of the UK to resettle people, and our immediate focus is ensuring the relocation of those already assessed as eligible.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many endangered Afghan journalists have been resettled in UK to date under (1) the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme, or (2) the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, since the withdrawal of British military forces from that country.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Statistics on individuals resettled or relocated under the Afghan schemes have now also become available in the Immigration System Statistics, year ending December 2022 release.
They show that 21,387 people have now been resettled or relocated through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). This includes people identified as particularly at risk including journalists.
Whilst I am not able to provide a breakdown of this data by occupation, work continues to assure information relating to all the people resettled and relocated to the UK, under the ACRS and the ARAP, on case working systems. Once this work concludes, statistics on both schemes - including the number of people resettled under each - will be included in the published Immigration Statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of Afghan journalists currently at risk of persecution in (1) Afghanistan, (2) Pakistan, and (3) Iran, for their professional activities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a champion of media freedom and a proud member of the Media Freedom Coalition. Defending media freedom at home and abroad is a priority for the UK. In Afghanistan, we understand that around 40 per cent of media outlets have ceased to operate and that 60 per cent of journalists have lost their jobs since August 2021. We continue to address the issue of media freedom in our discussions with the Taliban. We regularly raise media freedom at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan, most recently in January 2023. We condemn the Iranian authorities' crackdown on journalists and continue to raise the Iranian peoples' right to access independent media. The UK regularly engages countries on the need to respect human rights, including on freedom of expression and media freedom.